Adoption procedure to adopt my brother's daughter who is 7 years old

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  In simple terminology, the term ‘adoption’ means acceptance of a child of other parents to be the same as one’s own child or the choosing and making that to be one’s own which originally was not so. In legal terminology, adoption enables a childless person to make somebody else’s child as his own. But there has been an acute controversy among judges whether in adoption the secular motive predominates or the religious motive predominates (1).
(1). Mayne, Hindu Law and usage (11th edition) 184 – 188
In the case of Indre singh v. Kartar Singh (1), the court stated that the object of adoption is twofold:-
1.    To secure performance of one’s funeral rites
2.    To preserve the continuance of one’s lineage.

Law states that any Indian, Non- Indian or a foreigner can adopt a child. The person should be medically fit and financially able to take care of the child. The person must be at least 21 years old. This age limit is different depending upon the age of child who is being adopted. But the generally accepted rule is that both the adopter as well as the adoptee must have an age difference of 16 years. However in all cases, the age of the person who is adopting must not exceed 55 years.

CHAPTER III
ADOPTION PROCEDURE FOR RESIDENT INDIANS
 
9.      Registration and home study of the prospective adoptive parents. -
(1)       Every resident Indian prospective adoptive parents, who intends to adopt a child, shall register online in Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System by filling up the application form as provided in Schedule-5 and uploading the relevant documents.
(2)       The registration shall be complete and confirmed to the prospective adoptive parents immediately on receipt of the completed application form and required documents on Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System.
(3)       The prospective adoptive parents shall get their registration number from the acknowledgement slip and use it for viewing the progress of their case.
(4)       The home study report of the prospective adoptive parents shall be prepared by the specialised adoption agency in the State, where prospective adoptive parents are located, through its social worker or through a social worker from a panel maintained by the State Adoption Resource Agency or District Child Protection Unit, as the case may be.
(5)       The home study report shall be completed in the format given in Schedule – 6, within one month from the date of submission of requisite documents and shall be shared with the prospective adoptive parents immediately, thereafter.
(6)       The home study report shall be posted in the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System by the specialized adoption agency or District Child Protection Unit or State Adoption Resource Agency as the case may be, as soon as it is complete.
(7)       The home study report will remain valid for two years and shall be the basis for adoption of a child by the prospective adoptive parents from anywhere in the country.
(8)       The prospective adoptive parents shall be declared eligible and suitable by the specialized adoption agency based upon the home study report and supporting documents and in case any prospective adoptive parent is not declared eligible or suitable, the reasons for the same shall be recorded in the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System.
(9)       The prospective adoptive parents can appeal against the decision of rejection to Central Adoption Resource Authority.
(10)    The appeal referred to sub-paragraph (9) shall be disposed of within fifteen days and the decision of Central Adoption Resource Authority in this regard shall be binding.
(11)    The District Child Protection Unit shall facilitate online registration of prospective adoptive parents, uploading of documents and also for addressing technical difficulties faced by the specialized adoption agencies.
Provided that the adoption of a child by the prospective adoptive parents, after completion of their registration and home study report, shall depend upon the availability of a suitable child.
 
 
 
11.    Pre-adoption foster care. -
          The child shall be taken in pre-adoption foster care by the prospective adoptive parents within ten days from the date of acceptance, after signing the pre-adoption foster care undertaking in the format provided in Schedule-7.
 
12.    Legal Procedure. -
(1)       The specialized adoption agency shall file the adoption petition in the court, having jurisdiction over the place where the specialized adoption agency is located, within seven days from the date of acceptance by prospective adoptive parents for obtaining the necessary adoption orders under the Act.
(2)       In case the child is from a children’s home which is located in another district, the specialized adoption agency shall file the adoption petition in the concerned court of that district.   
(3)       The adoption petition shall contain all requisite documents as per Schedule- 8.
(4)       The court will hold the adoption proceeding in-camera and dispose of the case within a period of two months from the date of filing of the adoption petition by the specialized adoption agency.
(5)       The specialized adoption agency shall obtain a certified copy of the adoption order from the court and will forward it to the prospective adoptive parents within ten days and it shall also post a copy of such order in the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System and make necessary entries in Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System.
(6)       Registration of an adoption deed shall not be necessary.
(7)       The specialized adoption agency shall obtain the birth certificate of the child from the birth certificate issuing authority within ten days from the date of issuance of adoption order, with the name of adoptive parents, as parents, and date of birth as recorded in the adoption order.
 
13.    Follow up of progress of adopted child. -  
(1)       The specialized adoption agency shall report the progress of the child online in the format as provided inSchedule-11 in the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System along with photographs of the child on six monthly basis for two years from the date of pre-adoption foster placement with the prospective adoptive parents.
(2)       In case the child is having adjustment problem with the adoptive parents, the specialized adoption agency shall arrange necessary counselling for such adoptive parents and the child and if such counselling efforts do not succeed, the specialized adoption agency shall make effort for placing the child temporarily in alternative care.
 
14.    Adoption leave. -
Adoptive parents, working in the offices under the control of the Central Government or the State Government or the Central or State Public Sector Undertakings shall be entitled for adoption leave for proper care of adoptee, as per the extant instructions of the concerned Government or authority and the benefit of this facility shall be available from the stage of pre-adoption foster care. 
 

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